Police hostages freed in Peru

LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- Demonstrators in southern Peru freed 48 police officers Tuesday who had been held hostage for about a day.

Protesters in the state of Moquegua, near Peru's border with Chile, took hostages Monday amid demonstrations calling for a greater share of mining revenue. The protesters have blocked parts of the Pan American Highway for nearly a week.

Some officers said their captors had rope and suggested at one point they would hang the hostages, according to an account in the Peruvian News Agency.

The confrontation between demonstrators and authorities wounded at least 20 civilians and 40 police officers.

President Alan Garcia warned Tuesday that those responsible for violence in Moquegua will pay for their crimes.

"All of the people who have participated have committed a crime and will have to pay for it in court," he said, the news agency reported.